Photographic apparatus for use with light generating devices which are responsive to mechanical impulses

ABSTRACT

A still camera for use with detachable flashcubes having lamps which are are associated with cartridges responsive to mechanical impulses to fire the associated lamps. The body of the camera supports a horizontal pivot pin for a first two-armed lever one arm of which carries the pivot pin for a second two-armed lever. The second lever can be pivoted with reference to the first lever during the first part of a first stage of movement of an actuating lever from a first to a second position, and the second lever pivots with the first lever during the next-following part of the first stage of movement of the actuating lever whereby the first lever causes an impeller in the flashcube to transmit an impulse to one of the cartridges for firing of a lamp at the exact moment when the actuating member opens the shutter during a second stage of its movement. During such second stage, the actuating lever is disengaged from the second lever so that a spring can retract the first lever to its starting position. A blocking lever in the camera body can disengage the second lever from the actuating lever in response to detachment of the flashcube from the body so that the actuating lever can open the shutter while the first and second levers remain idle.

United States Patent 91 Engelsmann et al.

[ 1 PHOTOGRAPHIC APPARATUS FOR USE WITH LIGHT GENERATING DEVICES WHICHARE RESPONSIVE TO MECHANICAL IMPULSES [75] Inventors: Dieter Engelsmann,8025 Unterhaching; Hubert Hackenberg, Munchen 21; Horst Karl, Munchen13, all of Germany [73] Assignee: Agfa-Gevaert Aktiengesellschaft,

Leverkusen, Germany [22] Filed: June 30, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 158,256

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data July 3, 1970 Germany ..P 20 33150.4

[52] [1.8. CI. .....95/11.5 R, 95/11 L, 24 0/l.3

[51] Int. Cl. ..G03b 15/04 [58] Field of Search ..95/11 R, 11 L, 11.5 R;

[56] References Cited 7 UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,584,554 6/1971Hochreiter ..95/1 1.5 R 3,584,555 6/1971 Bresson ..95/1 1.5 R 887,0214/1970 Pickering et al. ..95/11 L Feb. 6, 1973 [57] ABSTRACT A stillcamera for use with detachable fiashcubes hav ing lamps which are areassociated with cartridges responsive to mechanical impulses to fire theassociated lamps. The body of the camera supports a horizontal pivot pinfor a first two-armed lever one arm of which carries the pivot pin for asecond twoarmed lever. The second lever can be pivoted with reference tothe first lever during the first part of a first stage of movement of anactuating lever from a first to a second position, and the second leverpivots with the first lever during. the next-following part of the firststage of movement of the actuating lever whereby the first lever causesan impeller in the flashcube to transmit an impulse to one of thecartridges for firing of a lamp at the exact moment when the actuatingmember opens the shutter during a second stage of its movement. Duringsuch second stage, the actuating lever is disengaged from the secondlever so that a spring can retract the first lever to its startingposition. A blocking lever in the camera body can disengage the secondlever from the actuating lever in response to detachment of theflashcube from the body so that the actuating lever can open the shutterwhile the first and second levers remain idle.

19 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures 2 i D79 79a 29 26H 26 Q PATENTED FEB 6 I975SHEET 2 [IF 3 INVENTOR DIETER ENGELSMANN By HUBERT HACKENBERG HORST KARLPATENTEDFEB s 1975 SHEET 30F 3 emu INVENTOR DIETER ENGELSMANN HUBERTHACKENBERG HORST KARL 44 /46! ffl 17 PHOTOGRAPHIC APPARATUS FOR USE WITHLIGHT GENERATING DEVICES WHICH ARE RESPONSIVE TO MECHANICAL IMPULSESBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates tophotographic apparatus in general, especially to still cameras, and moreparticularly to improvements in photographic apparatus which areprovided with or are connectable to sources of artificial light, such asflashcubes, electronic flash units or the like. Still more particularly,the invention relates to improvements in photographic apparatus whichcan be used with light sources of the type wherein a lamp or the likecan be fired in response to transmission of a mechanical impact orimpulse to a cartridge or the like in the casing of the light source.

It is already known to provide a still camera with a lever which has apin or the like and a cam face and is mounted in the body of the camerato move its pin into engagement with the firing mechanism ofa flashcubein response to movement of an actuating member with reference to the camface. The lever is biased against the actuating member by a spring butthe tip of the lever invariably extends from the camera body when themovement of the actuating member is completed so that the flashcubecannot be readily indexed in order to place a fresh lamp into an optimumposition for firing with attendant illumination of a subject or scene.Therefore, the indexing mechanisms for the flashcubes in such camerasmust be provided with complicated and costly means for insuring that theflashcube can be indexed in spite of the fact that the tip of the leverextends from the camera body or for removing the tip from the path ofthe flashcube.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the invention is to provide aphotographic apparatus, particularly a still camera, with novel andimproved means for timely operation of a flashcube or another source ofartificial light wherein the generation of light takes place in responseto transmission of mechanical impulses to cartridges or piezoelectricelements. I

Another object of the invention is to provide a photographic apparatusfor use with an indexible flashcube of the type wherein the lamps arefired in response to transmission of mechanical impulses to associatedoperating means, and to construct and assemble the camera in such a waythat the mechanism which serves to initiate the transmission ofmechanical impulses cannot interfere with the indexing of the flashcubewith reference to the body of the apparatus.

A further object of the invention is to provide a photographic aPparatuswhich is capable of invariably initiating the firing of a lamp wheneverthe flashcube is properly attached to the body of the apparatus and atthe exact time when the shutter is open to admit light against anunexposed film frame.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a photographicapparatus with a simple mechanism for releasing impellers which areprovided in the flashcube so that the impellers can cause the operatingmeans to fire a lamp whenever the flashcube is properly attached to thebody and the-user of the apparatus actuates the release element.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of theabove outlined character with a simple, compact, rugged, reliable andlong-lasting mechanism for initiating the firing of lamps in flashcubeswherein the firing of lamps necessitates the transmission of relativelystrong mechanical impulses.

The invention is embodied in a photographic apparatus which comprises ahousing or body, a source of artificial light (such as an indexibleflashcube) supported by the housing and including one or more lamps oranalogous light generating means and operating means (e.g., firingcartridges or piezoelectric elements) for the light generating means,the operating means being responsive to mechanical impulses to therebyoperate the light generating means, a first member (preferably atwo-armed lever) which is mounted in the housing for pivotal movementfrom a starting position in a first direction to assume a predeterminedposition and to thus initiate the transmission of an impulse to theoperating means of the light source and in a second direction backtoward the starting position in which the first member does notinterfere with movements of the light source with reference to thehousing, a second member (preferably a second two-armed lever)articulately coupled to the first member, means for biasing the firstmember in the second direction, and actuating means movable from a firstor cocked position to a second or uncooked position to thereby move thefirst member from the starting position by way of the second memberduring a first stage of its movement to the second position so that thefirst member assumes its predetermined position. The actuating meansbypasses the second member during a second stage of its movement towardthe second position so that the biasing means can return the firstmember to its starting position.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for theinvention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. Theimproved photographic apparatus itself, however, both as to itsconstruction and its mode of operation, together with additionalfeatures and advantages thereof, will be best understood upon perusal ofthe following detailed description of certain specific embodiments withreference to the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a fragmentary longitudinalvertical sectional view of a photographic apparatus which embodies oneform of the invention and whose housing is separably connected with aflashcube having lamps which can be fired in response to transmission ofmechanical impulses to cartridges provided therefor in the flashcube;

FIG. 2 illustrates a detail in the apparatus of FIG. 1 with the firstand second members shown in intermediate positions prior to transmissionof an impact to a cartridge in the flashcube;

FIG. 3 illustrates the structure of FIG. 2 with the first member shownin a predetermined position in which it initiates the transmission of animpulse to a cartridge in the flashcube;

FIG. 4 illustrates the structure of FIG. 2 or 3 with the first membershown again in its starting position; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary longitudinal vertical sectional view of amodified camera wherein the first member causes a third member toinitiate the transmission of an impulse to a selected cartridge in theflashcube, the latter being shown in detached position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring first to FIGS. 1 to4, there is shown a portion of a still camera having a housing or body 1which includes a top wall 1a; The top wall la is provided with a socket1b for reception of the base or foot 8a of an indexible source 8 ofartificial light. The illustrated light source 8 is a flashcube havingfour equidistant light generating lamps 7 (only one shown) each of whichcan be fired by a discrete operating means or cartridge 70 in responseto reception of a mechanical impact or impulse from an impeller 6 whichis held in cocked or stressed position by a stop 9. The casing 8b of thelight source 8 contains four impellers 6 and four discrete stops 9, onefor each impeller. The bottom panel 8c of 20 the casing 8b has fouropenings 8d, one for each of the four impellers 6 and positioned in sucha way that one opening 811 registers with an opening 1c in the top wallla whenever the light source 8 assumes one of four predeterminedpositions in each of which a different lamp 7 faces the subject, i.e.,in each of which a different lamp 7 is in an optimum position forillumination of the subject or scene which can be seen through theviewfinder (see the part 81 of FIG.

The means for lifting the impellers 6 above the associated stops 9 sothat the impellers can strike against the corresponding cartridges 7a inorder to fire the lamps 7 comprises a first or disengaging lever 3 whichis pivotable on a horizontal pin 2 fixedly mounted in the housing 1below the top wall la. A helical spring 4 biases the disengaging lever 3in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 1, so that it tendsto withdraw the arm 5 of the lever 4 from the opening 1c of the top wallla. A second arm 10 of the disengaging lever 3 carries a pivot pin 11for a second or control lever 12 having arms 12a and 13. The arm 13 canabut against the pivot pin 2 in response to sidewise movement of thelever 12 in the direction indicated by the arrow B.A torsion spring 14is convoluted around the pivot pin ll'and its legs engage the arms 10and 13 in such a way that the control lever 12 tends to pivot in acounterclockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 1. The reference character15 denotes a blocking lever which is mounted in the housing- 1 forpivotal movement about the axis of a horizontal pin 16 and is biased ina clockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 1, by a helical spring 18mounted in the lowermost or innermost part of the socket 1b. The spring18 can pivot the blocking lever 15 through the intermediary of a motiontransmitting plate 17 having lugs which are guided in slots 1d of thesocket lb. One lug of the plate 17 is articulately coupled to theleft-hand arm of the blocking lever 15. The right-hand arm of the lever15 has a projection 32 which engages the arm 12a of the control lever 12and prevents the latter from pivoting the disengaging lever 3 in aclockwise direction when the spring 18 is free to expand. When the baseor foot 8a of a light source 8 is properly inserted into andwithdrawably held in the socket lb, it maintains the motion transmittingplate 17 in the illustrated depressed position in which the spring 18stores energy. The projection 32 of the blocking lever 15 is then remotefrom the arm 12a and allows the control lever 12 to pivot thedisengaging lever 3 in a clockwise direction in order to effect adisengagement of the illustrated impeller 6 from the adjacent stop 9.

The means for moving the control lever 12 for the purpose of initiatingthe firing of a lamp 7 comprises actuating lever 19 which is mounted inthe housing 1 for pivotal movement about the axis of a vertical shaft 20and has a portion or moving means 21 which engages a suitablyconfigurated tooth or projection 12b at the free end of the arm 12a tomaintain the disengaging lever 3 and the control lever 12 in thestarting positions of FIG. 1. The torsion spring 14 reacts against thelever 3 and biases the arm 12a of the lever against the portion 21. Theactuating lever 19 is held in the first or cocked position of FIG. 1 bya retaining lever 22 which is pivotable on a horizontal pin 22a and isbiased in a counterclockwise direction by a helical spring 23. Thepallet 22b of the retaining lever 22 extends into the path of movementof the actuating lever 19 from the cocked or first position of FIG. 1 tothereby insure that the portion 21 of the actuating lever 19 holds thecontrol lever 12 in the starting position by engaging the tooth 12b. Theretaining lever 22 can be pivoted against the opposition of the spring23 in response to depression of a release knob 24 which is biased to theillustrated idle position by a return spring 24a and has a head which isaccessible at the exposed side of the top wall 1a to be depressed in thedirection indicated by the arrow A whenever the user of the camerawishes to make an exposure.

A spring 19a biases the actuating lever 19 from the cocked or firstposition of FIG. 1; this spring is causes to store a substantial amountof energy when the lever 19 is returned to the cocked position of FIG.1, for example, in response to actuation of the film transportingmechanism (not shown) for the purpose of advancing the film by thelength of a frame.

The portion 21 (or another portion) of the actuating lever 19 furtherserves as an arresting means for the extension 25 of a leading shutterblade 26 which is pivotable in the housing 1 on a horizontal shaft 26aand is biased by a spring 28 which urges the extension 25 against theportion 21. The leading shutter blade 26 normally overlies alight-admitting apertures 27 which is located behind the picture takinglens and in front of the foremost unexposed film frame. A second ortrailing shutter blade 29 is also pivotable on the shaft 26a and isbiased to its sealing position by a spring 30. The spring 30 can movethe trailing blade 29 to sealing position (in which the blade 29overlies the light-admitting opening 27) with a delay which isdetermined by an adjustable retard mechanism 31 of the shutter.

The operation:

It is assumed that the foot or base 8a of a fresh flashcube 8 isproperly inserted into and retained in the socket 1b of the top wall 1aso that the motion transmitting plate 17 stresses the spring 18 and theblocking lever 15 maintains its projection 32 at a level above andspaced from the arm 12a of the control lever 12. The flashcube 8 isattached to the housing 1 in such angular position that one of the fouropenings 8d in the bottom panel 8c of the casing 8b registers with theopening 10 of the top wall In. The spring 4 maintains the arm 5 of thedisengaging lever 3 in the starting position of FIG. 1

in which the tip of the arm 5 does not extend beyond the upper side ofthe top wall 1a. The tooth 12b at the free end of the arm 12a of thecontrol lever 12 bears against the portion 21 of the actuating lever 19which is held by lever 22 in the cocked or first position of FIG. sothat the spring 19a stores energy.

If the user wishes to make an exposure with artificial illumination ofthe subject, the release knob 24 is depressed in the direction indicatedby the arrow A so as to pivot the retaining lever 22 in a clockwisedirection against the opposition of the spring 23. The pallet 22b of theretaining lever 22 is disengaged from the portion 21 of the actuatinglever 19 so that the latter is free to turn on the shaft 20 under theaction of the spring 19a.

As the actuating lever 19 pivots under the action of the spring 19a, itsportion 21 pushes the arm 12a of the control lever 12 in the directionindicated by the arrow B. Such movement of the arm 12a under the actionof the spring 19a brings about a pivotal movement of the disengaginglever 3 against the opposition of the spring 4 (see the arrow C in FIG.1 As the arm 12a moves in the direction indicated by the arrow B and thedisengaging lever 3 simultaneously pivots about the axis of the pivotpin 2 (arrow C), the arm 13 approaches and finally abuts against thepivot pin 2. The arm 13 and/or the arresting portion or abutment of thepivot pin 2 for the arm 13 is preferably adjustable so as to insure thatthe arm 13 will strike against the pin 2 in a predetermined angularposition of the disengaging lever 3.

As the actuating member 19 turns on the shaft 20 under the action of thespring 19a, the spring 28 pivots the leading shutter blade 26 towardsits open position to expose the light-admitting aperture 27 because theextension 25 of the blade 26 is caused to bear against the portion 21 ofthe actuating lever 19. FIG. 2 shows the arm 13 of the control lever 12in a position close to abutment with the pivot pin 2. It will be seenthat the spring 4 is partly expanded because the tip of the arm 5extends through the opening 1c and into and through the registeringopening 8d so that it is adjacent to the illustrated impeller 6. Thelatter continues to abut against the associated stop 9.

As shown in FIG. 3, the actuating lever 19 can move its portion 21(arrow D) beyond the position of FIG. 2 so that the portion 21 causesthe arm 12a to continue its movement in the direction indicated by thearrow B (after the arm 13 moves into abutment with the pivot pin 2).Therefore, the control lever 12 pivots the disengaging lever 3 in aclockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 3, whereby the arm 5 disengagesthe impeller 6 from the stop 9 and the impeller 6 is free to transmit animpact to the adjacent cartridge 7a (FIG. 1) which fires the respectivelamp 7 at a time when the shutter is open, i.e., when the blade 26exposes the light-admitting aperture 27.

The portion 21 of the actuating lever 19 leaves the notch 120 of the arm120 after the arm 5 disengages the impeller 6 from the stop 9 wherebythe spring 4 is free to contract (see FIG. 4) and withdraws the arm 5from the openings 10 and 8d so that the flashcube 8 can be readilyindexed to a different angular position without any interference on thepart of. the disengaging lever 3. Such pivotal movement of thedisengaging lever 3 under the action of the spring 4 causes the controllever control lever 12 in a counterclockwise direction, as I viewed inFIG. 4, so that the upper edge face of the arm 12a bears against theportion 21 of the actuating lever 19 when the latter dwells in theuncocked or second position of FIG. 4.

The shutter is closed automatically after the elapse of an intervalwhich is determined by the setting of the retard mechanism 31. As soonas the mechanism 31 releases the projection 29a of the trailing shutterblade 29, the latter pivots on the shaft 26a under the action of thespring 30 and overlies the light-admitting aperture 27 to terminate theadmission of light ,to that film frame which is located behind thepicture taking objective.

The next exposure can be made after the actuating lever 19 is returnedto the cocked or first position of FIG. 1 by pivoting counter to thedirection indicated by the arrow D. Such pivotal movement of theactuating lever 19 results in a return movement of the leading shutterblade 26 to the sealing position of FIG. 1 because the portion 21 bearsagainst the projection 25 and causes the blade 26 to pivot against theopposition of the spring 28 while the actuating lever 19 stresses thespring 190. The pivotal movement of the actuating lever 19 to its cockedor first position can be effected by the film transporting mechanism. Assoon as the actuating lever 19 reassumes the cocked position of FIG. 1,its portion 21 engages the tooth 12b on the arm 12a and holds thecontrol lever 12 in the starting position of FIG. 1. Also, the retaininglever 22 is free to pivot under the action of its spring 23 and thepallet 22b e'ngages the portion 21 to lock the actuating lever 19 in thecocked position of FIG. 1.

If the socket lb is empty, i.e., if the base or foot 8a of the flashcube8 is withdrawn, the spring 18 expands and causes the motion transmittingplate 17 to pivot the blocking lever 15 in a clockwise direction, asviewed in FIG. 1. The projection 32 of the blocking lever 15 engages thearm 12a and pivots the control lever 12 in a clockwise direction so asto disengage thetooth 12b from the portion 21 of the actuating lever 19.Therefore, the actuating lever 19 is unable to effect a movement of thearm 5 to the predetermined position of FIG. 3 in which the arm 5 extendsbeyond the opening 1c of the top wall 1a and disengages the impeller 6from the stop 9.

The base or foot 8a of a properly inserted flashcube 8 can be indexedthrough degrees or through a whole multiple of 90 degrees in response toactuation of the film transporting mechanism to advance the film by thelength of a frame. The manner in which the film transporting mechanismcan index a flashcube is known in the art; therefore, such mechanism andits connection with the base or foot 8a are not shown in FIGS. 1 to 4.

An important advantage of the structure shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 is thatthe arm 5 of the disengaging lever 3 extends beyond the top wall 1a ofthe housing 1 for a relatively short interval of time, namely, duringthe first stage of movement of the actuating lever 19 from its first orcocked position of FIG. 1 to the second or uncocked position of FIG. 4in which the portion 21 continues to engage the notch of the arm 12a.The disengaging lever 3 is thereupon automatically retracted to thestarting position of FIG. 1 under the action of the spring 4 so that itcannot interfere with the indexing of flashcube 8 to a differentposition. By proper dimensioning of the levers 3, 12, each impeller 6can be dis engaged from the respective stop 9 in response to exertion ofa relatively small force. The arm 13 of the control lever 12 movestoward the pivot pin 2 for the disengaging lever 3 during the first partof the first stage of movement of the actuating lever 19 toward itssecond position. During the second part of such first stage, the levers3 and 12 pivot as a unit so as to move the lever 3 to the predeterminedposition of FIG. 3 in which the arm 5 disengages the impeller 6 from thestop 9. The actuating lever 19 then continues to move toward its secondposition but without pivoting the control lever 12 so that the spring 4can retract the disengaging lever 3 to the starting position of FIG. 1.

It is clear that the housing 1 can be provided with a separate abutmentfor the arm 13 of the control lever 12. However, the construction shownin FIG. 1 is preferred at this time because the member 2 can perform thedual function of pivot means for the control lever 3 and of an abutmentfor the arm 13.

If desired, the camera can be provided with a fixed cam, not shown,which disengages the control lever 12 from the actuating lever 19 whilethe latter performs the second part of the first stage of its movementfrom the cocked position of FIG. 1 or while the actuating lever 19begins the second stage of its movement toward the uncocked position ofFIG. 4.

FIG. 5 illustrates a portion of a modified still camera having a housing50 including a top wall 50a provided with an opening 500. A first ordisengaging lever 51 is pivotable in the housing 50 about the axis of ahorizontal pivot pin 52 and is biased in acounterclockwise direction bya helical spring 53. The arm 51a of the disengaging lever 51 carries apivot pin 54 for a second or control lever 55 having a first arm 55a anda second arm 56. A torsion spring 57 which is convoluted around thepivot pin 54 engages the arms 51a, 56 so as to bias the control lever 55in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 5. An actuating lever59 is biased by a spring 59a and has a portion or moving means 58 whichis normally engaged by the pallet 60b of a retaining lever 60 which ispivotable on a horizontal pin 60a and is biased in a counterclockwisedirection by a helical spring 61. The release knob (not shown) must bedepressed in the direction indicated by the arrow G in order todisengage the pallet 60b from the portion 58 of the actuating lever 59.FIG. 5 shows the actuating lever 59 in its first or cocked position inwhich the spring 59a stores energy and the portion 58 bears against thepallet 60b.

A two-armed blocking lever 62 is pivotable in the housing 50 about theaxis of a horizontal pin 63 and is biased in a clockwise direction by ahelical spring 64. The projection 65 at the free end of the right-handarm of the blocking lever 62 engages the arm 55a of the control lever 55and maintains the tooth 55b of the arm 55a at a level below the portion58 of the actuating lever 59. The projection 65 is free to assume suchoperative position because the base or foot 68a of the flashcube 68 iswithdrawn from the socket 50b of the top wall 50a. Thus, the spring 69is free to expand and maintains the motion transmitting plate 167 in itsraised position. A stem 167a of the plate 167 abuts against a motiontransmitting lever 66 which is pivotable on a horizontal pin 66a of thehousing 50 and is biased in a counterclockwise direction by a helicalspring 67. The left-hand arm of the blocking lever 62 is biased againstthe motion transmitting lever 66 by the spring 64 and, since the motiontransmitting plate 167 is held in the raised position by the spring 69,the projection 65 is caused by spring 64 to assume the operativeposition of FIG. 5.

A three-armed third lever 70 is pivotable in the housing 50 on ahorizontal pin 71 and is biased in a counterclockwise direction by ahelical spring 72. The arm 70a of the third lever 70 abuts against thefree end portion of the motion transmitting lever 66; a second arm 70bof the lever 70 extends in part through the opening 500 in the top wall50a; and a third arm 75 of the lever 70 abuts against one end portion76a of a reciprocable slide 76. The slide 76 has two parallel elongatedslots 76b for fixed guide pins 79. A spring 78 biases the slide 76 in adirection to the left, as viewed in FIG. 5.

The flashcube 68 has a casing 68b containing four equidistant lamps 73,four impellers 77 and four stops 74. The bottom panel 68c of the casing68b is provided with four openings 6811, one for each impeller 77.

The operation of the structure shown in FIG. 5 is as follows:

If the user of the still camera wishes to make an exposure withoutflash, i.e., if the foot or base 68a of the flashcube 68 is not insertedinto the socket 50b of the top wall 500, the projection 65 of theblocking lever 62 maintains the arm a of the control lever 55 away fromthe path of the portion 58 of the actuating member 59. Thus, if the userdepresses the release knob in the direction indicated by the arrow G,the retaining lever moves its pallet 60b away from the portion 58 sothat the spring 59a can contract and moves the actuating lever 59 fromthe illustrated first or cocked position. The portion 58 then moves theleading shutter blade to the open position in the same way as describedfor the portion 21 and shutter blade 26 of FIG. 1. The trailing shutterblade moves to its sealing position with a predetermined delay to thuscomplete the exposure of a film frame to scene light.

If the exposure isto be made with artificial illumination of thesubject, the user inserts the foot or base 68a into the socket 50b sothat the foot 68a depresses the motion transmitting plate 167 andstresses the spring 69. At the same time, the shank or stem 167a of theplate 167 pivots the motion transmitting lever 66 in a clockwisedirection as indicated by the arrow D. The motion transmitting lever 66pivots the blocking lever 62 in a counterclockwise direction (arrow F)whereby the projection moves upwardly and permits the tooth 55b on thearm 55a of the control lever 55 to engage the portion 58 of the cockedactuating lever 59. This is due to the provision of the torsion spring57 which biases the control lever 55 in a counterclockwise direction(arrow G). As the motion transmitting lever 66 pivots in the directionindicated by the arrow D, the spring 72 is free to pivot the third leverin a counterclockwise direction (arrow E) to such an extent that theupwardly extending portion of the arm 70 b engages the adjacent impeller77 but the latter continues to bear against the respective stop 74,i.e., the lamp 73 is not fired in response to attachment of theflashcube 68 to the housing 50. The arm 75 of the third lever 70 pushesthe slide 76 in a direction to the right, as viewed in FIG. 5, wherebythe slide 76 moves an indicator (e.g., a flag 80) into the viewfinderwindow 81. The spring 78 insures that the left-hand end portion 76a ofthe slide 76 continues to bear against the arm 75 of the third lever 70.The extent of movement of the arm 75 in a counterclockwise direction(arrow E) in response to insertion of a flashcube 68 with four firedlamps 73 (or with at least one fired lamp 73 which is positioned in sucha way that the associated impeller 77 is located above the opening 50c)exceeds the extent of movement of the arm 75 when the arm 70b engages animpeller 77 which still abuts against the associated stop 74. Thiscauses the flag 80 to move out of the viewfinder window 81 or to assumein the viewfinder window a position which indicates to the user that thelamp 73 which faces the subject has been fired. If desired, the slide 76can serve as a carrier for two discrete flags one of which (e.g., theillustrated flag 80) appears in v the viewfinder window 81 when the arm70b engages an impeller 77 which still abuts against the associated stop74 (to thus indicate that an unfired lamp 73 of the properly attachedflashcube 68 faces the subject), and the other of which appears in theviewfinder window 81 when the arm 70b is free to abut against animpeller 77 which has been disengaged from the associated stop 74 tothus indicate to the user that the lamp 73 which faces the subject hasbeen fired, i.e., that the camera is not ready to make an exposure withartificial illumination of the subject.

It is clear that the window 81 can constitute a separate window which isprovided in the housing 50 in addition to the window of the viewfinder.

The exposure with artificial illumination of the subject is thereuponstarted by depressing the release knob in the direction indicated by thearrow G. The pallet 60b of the retaining lever 60 is disengaged from theportion 58 of the actuating lever 59 so that the latter begins to turnunder the action of the spring 59a. The portion 58 pushes the controllever 55 in a direction to the left so that the arm 56 moves towardabutment with the pivot pin 52Further leftward movement of the arm 55aunder the action of the portion 58 then causes the disengaging lever 51to pivot in a clockwise direction, as viewedin FIG. 5, and to cause thearm 70b of the third lever 70 to disengage the adjacent impeller 77 fromthe associated stop 74. The impeller 77 transmits an impact to thecartridge 73a and causes the latter to fire the lamp 73 while theshutter is open, i.e., while the leading shutter blade is held in openposition by the portion 58 and while the trailing shutter bladecontinues to dwell in its open position.

The flag 80 changes its position with reference to the window 81 whenthe arm 70b is retracted into the housing 50 under the action of thespring 78 to thus indicate to the user that the lamp 73 which faces thesubject has been fired. The retraction of arm 70b into the housing 50(to thus permit unimpeded indexing of the flashcube 68 by the filmtransporting mechanism, in response to return movement of the actuatinglever 59 to its cocked or first position, or by hand) can take placewhen the portion 58 of the actuating lever 59 moves beyond the notch 55cin the arm'55a because the spring 53 is then free to contract and thedisengaging lever 51 does not oppose a clockwise pivotal movement of thethird lever by the spring 78 and slide 76.

All other operations take place in a manner as described in connectionwith FIGS. 1 to 4.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist ofthe present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge,readily adapt it for various applications without omitting featureswhich fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic andspecific aspects of our contribution to the art and, therefore, suchadaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within themeaning and range of equivalence of the claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent isset forth in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. In a photographic apparatus, a combination comprising a housing; asource of artificial light supported by said housing and including lightgenerating means and operating means for said light generating means,said operating means being responsive to mechanical impulses to therebyoperate said light generating means; a first member mounted in saidhousing for pivotal movement from a starting position in a'firstdirection'to assume a predetermined position and to thus initiate thetransmission of an impulse to said operating means and in a seconddirection back toward said starting position; a second memberarticulately coupled to said first member; means for biasing said firstmember in said second direction; and actuating means movable from afirst position to a second position and having means for moving saidfirst member from said starting position by way of said second memberduring a first stage of movement of said actuating means to said secondposition so that said first member assumes said predetermined position,said moving means being arranged to bypass said second member during asecond stage of movement of said actuating means to said second positionso that said biasing means can move said first member from saidpredetermined position.

2. A combination as defined in claim 1, wherein said first and secondmembers are levers and said first member is pivotable in said housingabout a fixed axis.

3. A combination as defined in claim 1, wherein said second member hasan arm and further comprising abutment means provided in said housingfor said arm, said moving means of said actuating means being arrangedto move said second member with reference to said first member and tothereby move said arm toward engagement with said abutment means duringa first portion of said first stage and 'to pivot said first and secondmembers in unison during the remaining portion of said first stage ofmovement of said actuating means to said second position.

4. A combination as defined in claim 3, further comprising means forbiasing said second member against said moving means of said actuatingmeans during said first stage of movement of said actuating means, saidactuating means being movable from said second position back to saidfirst position thereof and said last mentioned biasing means beingarranged to urge said second member against said moving means of saidactuating means not later than when said actuating means reassumes saidfirst position thereof.

5. A combination as defined in claim 3, further comprising means forbiasing said second member against said moving means of said actuatingmeans during said first stage of movement of said actuating means.

6. A combination as defined in claim 5, wherein said last mentionedbiasing means reacts against said first member.

7. A combination as defined in claim 1, further comprising stationarycam means provided in said housing to disengage said second member fromsaid actuating means during said second stage of movement of saidactuating means.

8. A combination as defined in claim 1, wherein said actuating means ispivotable between said first and second positions about an axis which isat least substantially normal to the pivot axis of said first member.

9. A combination as defined in claim 1, further comprising normallyclosed shutter means, said actuating means being arranged to open saidshutter means in response to movement from said first to said secondposition thereof.

10. A combination as defined in claim 1, further comprising means forindicating the positions of said first member.

11. A combination as defined in claim 1, wherein said light generatingmeans includes atleast one lamp and said operating means comprises acartridge for firing said lamp in response to reception of a mechanicalimpact, said source further comprising normally cocked impeller meansand stop means for maintaining said impeller means in the cockedposition thereof, said first member being arranged to effect thedisengagement of said impeller means from said stop means in response tomovement to said predetermined position so that said impeller means cantransmit an impact to said cartridge.

12. A combination as defined in claim 1, wherein each of said members isa two-armed lever and said second member is pivotably supported by onearm of said first member.

13. A combination as defined in claim 1, further comprising retainingmeans for releasably holding said actuating means in said .firstposition thereof and release means operable to disengage said retainingmeans from said actuating means.

14. In a photographic apparatus, a combination comprising a housing; asource of artificial light supported by said housing and including lightgenerating means and operating means for said light generating means,said operating means being responsive to mechanical impulses to therebyoperate said light generating means; a first member mounted in saidhousing for pivotal movement from a starting position in a firstdirection to assume a predetermined position and to thus initiate thetransmission of an impulse to said operating means and in a seconddirection back toward said starting position; a second memberarticulately coupled to said first member and having an arm; abutmentmeans provided in said housing for said arm, said abutment meansdefining a pivot axis for said first member; means for biasing saidfirst member in said second direction; and actuating means movable froma first position to a second position to thereby move said first memberfrom said starting position'by way of said second member during a firststage of its movement to said second position so that said first memberassumes said predetermined position, and to bypass said second memberduring a second stage of said movement so that said biasing means canmove said first member from said predetermined position, said actuatingmeans being arranged to move said second member with reference to saidfirst member and to thereby move said arm toward engagement with saidabutment means during a first portion of said first stage and to pivotsaid first and second members in unison during the remaining portion ofsaid first stage.

15. In a photographic apparatus, a combination comprising a housing; asource of artificial light supported by and separably attached to saidhousing and including light generating means and operating means forsaid light generating means, said operating means being responsive tomechanical impulses to thereby operate said light generating means; afirst member mounted in said housing for pivotal movement from astarting position in a first direction to assume a predeterminedposition and to thus initiate the transmission of an impulse to saidoperating means and in a second direction back toward said startingposition; a second member articulately coupled to said first member;means for biasing said first member in said second direction; actuatingmeans movable from a first position to a second position to thereby movesaid first member from said starting positionby way of said secondmember during a first stage of its movement to said second position sothat said first member assumes said predetermined position, and tobypass said second member during a second stage of said movement so thatsaid biasing means can move said first member from said predeterminedposition; and blocking means movably mounted in said housing formovement to a predetermined position in response to separation of saidsource from said housing to thereby disengage said second member fromsaid actuating means in the first position of said actuating means sothat the actuating means can bypass said second member during movementfrom said first position thereof.

16. A combination as defined in claim 15, further comprising motiontransmitting means movably mounted in said housing to disengage saidblocking means from said second member in response to attachment of saidsource to said housing.

17. in a photographic apparatus, a combination comprising a housing; asource of artificial light supported by and separably attached to saidhousing and including light generating means and operating means forsaid light generating means, said operating means being responsive tomechanical impulses to thereby operate said light generating means; afirst member mounted in said housing for pivotal movement from astarting position in a first direction to assume a predeterminedposition and to thus initiate the transmission of an impulse to saidoperating means and in a second direction back toward said startingposition; a second member articulately coupled to said first member;meansfor biasing said first member in said second direction; actuatingmeans movable from a first position to a second position to thereby movesaid first member from said starting position by way of said secondmember during a first stage of its movement to said second position sothat the first member assumes said predetermined position, and to bypasssaid second member during a second stage of said movement so that saidbiasing means can move said first member from said predeterminedposition; a third member pivotably mounted in said housing andresponsive to movement of said first member from said starting to saidpredetermined position to thereby effect the transmission of an impulseto said operating means; and motion transmitting means movably mountedin said housing and arranged to move said third member, in response toattachment of said source to said housing, to aposition in which saidthird member engages impeller means provided in said second arm engagingsaid arm of said first mentioned lever.

1. In a photographic apparatus, a combination comprising a housing; asource of artificial light supported by said housing and including lightgenerating means and operating means for said light generating means,said operating means being responsive to mechanical impulses to therebyoperate said light generating means; a first member mounted in saidhousing for pivotal movement from a starting position in a firstdirection to assume a predetermined position and to thus initiate thetransmission of an impulse to said operating means and in a seconddirection back toward said starting position; a second memberarticulately coupled to said first member; means for biasing said firstmember in said second direction; and actuating means movable from afirst position to a second position and having means for moving saidfirst member from said starting position by way of said second memberduring a first stage of movement of said actuating means to said secondposition so that said first member assumes said predetermined position,said moving means being arranged to bypass said second member during asecond stage of movement of said actuating means to said second positionso that said biasing means can move said first member from saidpredetermined position.
 1. In a photographic apparatus, a combinationcomprising a housing; a source of artificial light supported by saidhousing and including light generating means and operating means forsaid light generating means, said operating means being responsive tomechanical impulses to thereby operate said light generating means; afirst member mounted in said housing for pivotal movement from astarting position in a first direction to assume a predeterminedposition and to thus initiate the transmission of an impulse to saidoperating means and in a second direction back toward said startingposition; a second member articulately coupled to said first member;means for biasing said first member in said second direction; andactuating means movable from a first position to a second position andhaving means for moving said first member from said starting position byway of said second member during a first stage of movement of saidactuating means to said second position so that said first memberassumes said predetermined position, said moving means being arranged tobypass said second member during a second stage of movement of saidactuating means to said second position so that said biasing means canmove said first member from said predetermined position.
 2. Acombination as defined in claim 1, wherein said first and second membersare levers and said first member is pivotable in said housing about afixed axis.
 3. A combination as defined in claim 1, wherein said secondmember has an arm and further comprising abutment means provided in saidhousing for said arm, said moving means of said actuating means beingarranged to move said second member with reference to said first memberand to thereby move said arm toward engagement with said abutment meansduring a first portion of said first stage and to pivot said first andsecond members in unison during the remaining portion of said firststage of movement of said actuating means to said second position.
 4. Acombination as defined in claim 3, further comprising means for biasingsaid second member against said moving means of said actuating meansduring said first stage of movement of said actuating means, saidactuating means being movable from said second position back to saidfirst position thereof and said last mentioned biasing means beingarranged to urge said second member against said moving means of saidactuating means not later than when said actuating means reassumes saidfirst position thereof.
 5. A combination as defined in claim 3, furthercomprising means for biasing said second member against said movingmeans of said actuating means during said first stage of movement ofsaid actuating means.
 6. A combination as defined in claim 5, whereinsaid last mentioned biasing means reacts against said first member.
 7. Acombination as defined in claim 1, further comprising stationary cammeans provided in said housing to disengage said second member from saidactuating means during said second stage of movement of said actuatingmeans.
 8. A combination as defined in claim 1, wherein said actuatingmeans is pivotable between said first and second positions about an axiswhich is at least substantially normal to the pivot axis of said firstmember.
 9. A combination as defined in claim 1, further comprisingnormally closed shutter means, said actuating means being arranged toopen said shutter means in response to movement from said first to saidsecond position thereof.
 10. A combination as defined in claim 1,further comprising means for indicating the positions of said firstmember.
 11. A combination as defined in claim 1, wherein said lightgenerating means includes at least one lamp and said operating meanscomprises a cartridge for firing said lamp in response to reception of amechanical impact, said source further comprising normally cockedimpeller means and stop means for maintaining said impeller means in thecocked position thereof, said first member being arranged to effect thedisengagement of said impeller means from said stop means in response tomovement to said predetermined position so that said impeller means cantransmit an impact to said cartridge.
 12. A combination as defined inclaim 1, wherein each of said members is a two-armed lever and saidsecond member is pivotably supported by one arm of said first member.13. A combination as defined in claim 1, further comprising retainingmeans for releasably holding said actuating means in said first positionthereof and release means operable to disengage said retaining meansfrom said actuating means.
 14. In a photographic apparatus, acombination comprising a housing; a source of artificial light supportedby said housing and including light generating means and operating meansfor said light generating means, said operating means being responsiveto mechanical impulses to thereby operate said light generating means; afirst member mounted in said housing for pivotal movement from astarting position in a first direction to assume a predeterminedposition and to thus initiate the transmission of an impulse to saidoperating means and in a second direction back toward said startingposition; a second member articulately coupled to said first member andhaving an arm; abutment means provided in said housing for said arm,said abutment means defining a pivot axis for said first member; meansfor biasing said first member in said second direction; and actuatingmeans movable from a first position to a second position to thereby movesaid first member from said starting position by way of said secondmember during a first stage of its movement to said second position sothat said first member assumes said predetermined position, and tobypass said second member during a seconD stage of said movement so thatsaid biasing means can move said first member from said predeterminedposition, said actuating means being arranged to move said second memberwith reference to said first member and to thereby move said arm towardengagement with said abutment means during a first portion of said firststage and to pivot said first and second members in unison during theremaining portion of said first stage.
 15. In a photographic apparatus,a combination comprising a housing; a source of artificial lightsupported by and separably attached to said housing and including lightgenerating means and operating means for said light generating means,said operating means being responsive to mechanical impulses to therebyoperate said light generating means; a first member mounted in saidhousing for pivotal movement from a starting position in a firstdirection to assume a predetermined position and to thus initiate thetransmission of an impulse to said operating means and in a seconddirection back toward said starting position; a second memberarticulately coupled to said first member; means for biasing said firstmember in said second direction; actuating means movable from a firstposition to a second position to thereby move said first member fromsaid starting position by way of said second member during a first stageof its movement to said second position so that said first memberassumes said predetermined position, and to bypass said second memberduring a second stage of said movement so that said biasing means canmove said first member from said predetermined position; and blockingmeans movably mounted in said housing for movement to a predeterminedposition in response to separation of said source from said housing tothereby disengage said second member from said actuating means in thefirst position of said actuating means so that the actuating means canbypass said second member during movement from said first positionthereof.
 16. A combination as defined in claim 15, further comprisingmotion transmitting means movably mounted in said housing to disengagesaid blocking means from said second member in response to attachment ofsaid source to said housing.
 17. In a photographic apparatus, acombination comprising a housing; a source of artificial light supportedby and separably attached to said housing and including light generatingmeans and operating means for said light generating means, saidoperating means being responsive to mechanical impulses to therebyoperate said light generating means; a first member mounted in saidhousing for pivotal movement from a starting position in a firstdirection to assume a predetermined position and to thus initiate thetransmission of an impulse to said operating means and in a seconddirection back toward said starting position; a second memberarticulately coupled to said first member; means for biasing said firstmember in said second direction; actuating means movable from a firstposition to a second position to thereby move said first member fromsaid starting position by way of said second member during a first stageof its movement to said second position so that the first member assumessaid predetermined position, and to bypass said second member during asecond stage of said movement so that said biasing means can move saidfirst member from said predetermined position; a third member pivotablymounted in said housing and responsive to movement of said first memberfrom said starting to said predetermined position to thereby effect thetransmission of an impulse to said operating means; and motiontransmitting means movably mounted in said housing and arranged to movesaid third member, in response to attachment of said source to saidhousing, to a position in which said third member engages impeller meansprovided in said source for said operating means.
 18. A combination asdefined in claim 17, wherein said first member is a lever having an armwhich abuts against said tHird member in said starting position of saidfirst member.